Have been looking for a second-hand bike for my wife for some time and came across an ad on Gumtree for a Gitane MTB Rocks TL four.five. Well, bought it for AUD $75. About 10 years old, paintwork a bit scratched, scuffed and generally knocked about; but the mechanicals seem really good - not that I'm an expert by any means.

Anyway, my wife loves it, which is the most important thing!

I'm curious about the background and quality of this type of bike. Googling doesn't show much so I thought I'd ask the bike fan-boys about it.

Can anyone fill me in on this? Is it considered low end or better? Looking at the configuration it appears rugged; and certainly better made than your average department store product.

I know Gitane has a good reputation for road bikes, but does this carry across to MTB as well?

Anyway, regardless of how it stacks up in the quality stakes, she enjoys riding it, so all is good with the world.